The world simply must not be a better place, according to the chaos merchant. And so long as politicians move upward on scandal, the military establishment gets fatter on more war, and the media profits from the spread of bad news, there will continue to be those who thrive on chaos.

But this is the created world, not the real world. Behind all this upset and disturbance there exists a calmer environment. It is one in which man can live and feel better, a world where people do heroic deeds and neighbors help each other and people overcome vast odds to excel.

The differences between a competent person and an incompetent person are demonstrated in his environment (surroundings). A person is either the effect of his environment or is able to have an effect upon his environment.

The nineteenth-century psychologist preached that man had to “adjust to his environment.” This false datum helped begin a racial degeneration.

The truth is that man is as successful as he adjusts the environment to him.

Being competent means the ability to control and operate the things in the environment and the environment itself.

By recognizing the work of the chaos merchant, people can begin to better control their environments.